Intuit buys Docstoc to bolster its small business services

Business software maker Intuit wants to be the go-to destination for entrepreneurs and small businesses — and it just scooped up yet another startup to help round out its small business division.

The Silicon Valley-based company on Wednesday announced its acquisition of Docstoc, a document hosting and sharing service. It did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Founded in 2007, Docstoc offers a wide array of business documents, videos, how-to articles, and other resources aimed at helping entrepreneurs start and grow a small business. Intuit already offers tax documents and checks, but Docstoc covers everything from real estate forms to trademark assignment agreements. Much of Docstoc’s content is user-generated; the site’s 20 million users can post and sell their custom documents through the DocStore.

In August, Docstoc purchased BestVendor, a self-described “Yelp for small businesses,” to provide small businesses with software and service recommendations. Then in early October the company rebooted its platform, updating its custom documents product and adding hundreds of how-to topic pages for small businesses.

“The main point of the relaunch is making sure all those different value propositions aren’t so disparate,” DocStoc cofounder and CEO told VentureBeat at the time. “This was also just us really focusing everything that we do on that small business customer.”

Intuit, meanwhile, has been snapping up companies at a furious rate. In the last six months, it acquired Prestwick Services, a payroll-based billing and and payment solution (Nov.); Full Slate, an appointment scheduling startup (Oct.); Level Up Analytics, a data consulting company (Oct.); and GoodApril, a tax planning service (Aug.). Intuit paid a total of $65 million for those four companies, according to a recent filing.

Docstoc’s team of 50 employees will continue to operate out of its Santa Monica headquarters. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Docstoc has only raised $4 million in venture capital, so it’s likely to be a windfall for Docstoc investors like VC firm Rustic Canyon. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of Jan. 2014.

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Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship produc... read more »